10/04/12 10/04/12 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is "democracy now!" expanding the debate. >> you are entitled to your own airplane and house, but not your own facts. >> the average person making $3 million is getting a $250,000 tax break while middle-class families are burdened further. that is not what i believe is a recipe for economic growth. >> we clearly are in a crisis. people are losing their jobs, homes, decent wages, affordable health care and higher

education. our civil liberties are under attack. the wealthy few are making out better than ever. >> this is also about whether our nation continues down the road toward totalitarianism. >> sound unfamiliar? as president obama and mitt romney squared off for the first time, we break the sound barrier by expanding the debate in real time to include two candidates shut out of the major political parties. the green party's jill stein and the justice party's rocky anderson. expanding the debate. this is what democracy sounds like. all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are on the road in denver, colorado. president obama and republican challenger mitt romney squared off in denver wednesday night in the first of three presidential

campaigns. drilling obama in the polls of several battleground states, romney sought to rejuvenate his campaign with an attack on what he called president obama's policies of trickle-down government. >> i am concerned the path we're on has been unsuccessful. the president has a view to one similar when he ran four years ago, that a bigger government spending more, taxing more, regulating more -- a trickle- down government -- would work. that is not the right answer for america. >> president obama was more subdued in his comments, failing to make one mention of romney's infamous 47%, and his background of bain capital. addressing romney's tax plan, obama said romney's effort to cut taxes for the wealthy would be to the gutting of essential government programs. box for 18 months he has been running on this tax plan. five weeks before the election, now he is saying his big, bold

idea is, "never mind." the fact is, if you are lowering the rates the way you described, governor, then it is not possible to come up with enough deductions and loopholes that only affect high-income individuals to avoid either raising the deficit or burdening the middle class. it is math. >> mitt romney challenged obama's assertion that his tax plan would cost the country $five trillion in revenue, the knowledge to cut spending on government programs will drastically increasing funding for the military. in a jab that quickly exploded on twitter car romney told moderator jim lehrer he would cut funds to employer pbs, despite his love for certain sesame street character. >> i am sorry, jim, i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs. i love big bird. i like you, too, but i am not one keep spending money on things to borrow money from

china to pay for. >> we will expand the debate with third-party candidates after the headlines. turkey has launched strikes inside syria after a bomb fired from syrian territory killed five turkish civilians. the victims were a family of five and a village near the syrian border. the turkish deputy prime minister said his government had every right to respond with force. >> there has been in attack and citizens have lost their lives. there is definite response to international law. turkey is a nato member. certain nato treaty articles bring about certain responsibilities when one of its members is attacked. we're not blinded by rage, but we will protect our rights. >> wednesday's violence marked the day this cross border flare- up between the two countries since the uprising in syria began nearly two years ago.

there have been unconfirmed reports syrian troops were killed overnight. the syrian information minister said his government is investigating the attack and offered condolences to the turkish victims. >> the authorities are investigating what led to the death of the mother and her children near the syrian-turkish borders. we console the families of the mortar. >> the border violence between turkey and syria becamcame hours after dozens of people were killed in a series of bombings in aleppo. scores of iranians rallied in tehran wednesday to protest the collapse of the country's currency. it has had an all-time low amidst a worsening financial crisis brought upon by western sanctions fallen 40% against the dollar in just a week. iranian forces reportedly

clashed with demonstrators and fired gas to disperse it. in washington, hillary clinton said the iranian government only has itself to blame for its economic problems. >> i think the iranian government deserves responsibility for what is going on inside iran. and that is who should be held accountable. i think they have made their own government decisions, having nothing to do with the sanctions that have had an impact on the economic conditions inside the country, and of course, the sanctions have had an impact as well, but those could be remedied in short order if the iranian government were willing to work with the p5 plus 1 and the rest of the international committee and a sincere manner. >> clinton is that going for a full investigation for alleged

security lapses that led to the killing of four americans at the was consulate in benghazi, libya last month. house republicans have set a hearing for next week following kent state department rebuffed pleas from u.s. officials in libya for more secured before the attack. on wednesday, hillary clinton about a perot pro. >> men and women who serve this country as diplomats deserve no less than a full and accurate accounting wherever that leads. i am committed to seeking that for them. and for those who made the ultimate sacrifice and service to our nation. no one once to determine no more than the president i do -- no one wants to determine what happened in benghazi that that more than the president and i do. nobody will hold this department more accountable than we hold ourselves. >> public school teachers in chicago have voted to ratify the

agreement that ended their historic strike last month. the deal calls for double-digit salary increase over the next three years, as well as compromises over the contentious issues of teacher evaluations and job security. ratification vote officially ends the strike, the first by chicago teachers in 25 years. the pennsylvania supreme court has upheld the stay of execution granted to a death row prisoner convicted of murdering his sexual abuser. terrance terry williams was settled to die on october 3 for the 1984 murder of amos norwood. norwood had sexually abused williams over a number of years up until the night before williams took revenge by ending norwood's live. but last week, state court halted the execution and ordered in a sentencing hearing over evidence prosecutors had withheld evidence of norwood's molestation of williams and other minors. williams was convicted based on the prosecution's contention that he had been tried to rob norwood before the murder, not seeking revenge for sexual

abuse. prosecutors had challenged that ruling, but on wednesday, the pennsylvania supreme court affirmed the stay. in a statement, the attorney for williams said -- workers at a factory set to close. workers at sensata technologies have set a three-week in camp called bainport across the street from the facility to protest plans to close the plant and move it to china, taking 170 jobs with it. it is owned by bain capital, the private equity firm co-founded by mitt romney. the workers said they plan to continue the blockades of trucks removing their equipment.

for our broadcast from the bainport and catmint, go to democracynow.org. a muslim american man was wrongly detained after the 9/11 attacks has won the right to be tried. he was jailed for 15 nights and to the federal material witness statute before being released. during his ordeal, he was repeatedly stripped searched and left naked. a federal appeals court later ruled attorney general john ashcroft circumvented the constitution. on friday, a federal judge ruled he was wrongly imprisoned and is entitled to challenge the government's misuse of the law in court. those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. with less than five weeks before the general election, president obama and republican presidential nominee mitt romney squared off in their first presidential debate wednesday in denver, colorado. for 90 minutes, the candidates faced off over taxes,

unemployment, economic regulations, social security, health care, education, partisan gridlock and other domestic issues. romney repeatedly attacked obama's record, often putting the president on the defensive. many supporters of obama have expressed surprise that he never mentioned several of romney's potential weak spots, including his record as the private equity firm bain capital. also his vast personal wealth and offshore investments, and his recent remark that 47% of americans are government dependents. some domestic issues went virtually unmentioned wednesday night, including immigration policy, global warming, gun control, incarceration rates, and poverty. some key voices were shut out the conversation, including those of third-party presidential candidates. as obama and romney were facing off at the university of denver wednesday night, "democracy now!" was just miles away airing a special three-hour broadcast expanding the debate. we broke the sound barrier by pausing after president obama's

and romley's answers to get real-time responses from jill stein of the green party and rocky anderson of the justice the party. dr. stein is a physician from massachusetts. rocky anderson is the former mayor of salt lake city. we also invited gary johnson, the decline to join us. today we bring you highlights from our expanding the debate special. we begin with the debate moderator jim lehrer. >> let's start with the economy, segment one, and let's begin with jobs. what are the major differences between the two of you about how you go about creating new jobs. you have two minutes each of you to start print a coin toss determines, mr. president, you go first. >> four years ago, we went through the worst financial crisis in the great depression. millions of jobs were lost. the auto industry was on the

brink of collapse. the financial system had frozen up. and because of the resilience and the determination of the american people, we've begun to fight our way back over the last 30 months, we've seen 5 million jobs in the private sector created. the auto industry has come roaring back. and housing has begun to rise. but we all know that we've still got a lot of work to do. and so the question here tonight is where we've been, but where we're going. governor romney has a perspective that says if we cut taxes, skewed toward the wealthy, and roll back regulations, that we would be better off. i've got a different view. i think we've got to invest in education and training. i think it's important for us to develop new sources of energy here in america, that we change our tax code to make sure we're helping small businesses and companies that are investing in the u.s., that we take some of the money that we're saving as

we wind down two wars to rebuild america and that we reduce our deficit in a balanced way that allows us to make these critical investments. it ultimately will be up to the voters which tafpath we take. are we going to double down on what help is into this mess or do we embrace a new economic patriotism that says america does best when the middle class does best. i'm looking forward to having that debate. >> this is a very tender topic. i've had the occasion of meeting people across the country. i was in dayton ohio and a woman grabbed my arm and said, i have been out of work since may. can you help make westmark yesterday was a rally in denver. a woman came up with the baby in her arms. she said, i has been as had four jobs in three years, part-time jobs. we just lost our home. can you help us? the answer is, yes, we can help.

but it is when it take a different path, not the one we have been on, not the one the president describes as the top down, cut taxes for the rich. my plan has five basic parts. one, energy independent. second, open that more trade, particularly in latin america, crack down on time if and when they cheat. no. 3, make sure our people have the skills to succeed. in the best schools in the world. number four, get us to a balanced budget. no. 5, champion small business. if small business -- it is small business that creates jobs in america. over the last four years, small business people decided america may not be the place to open a new business because business start-ups are up tdown to a 30- year low. i am concerned the path we're on has been unsuccessful. the president has to be similar

to the one we had when he ran four years ago, that a bigger government, spending more, taxing more, regulating more, if you look, trickle-down government, would work. that is not the right answer for america. all restore the vitality that gets america working again. thank you >> as "democracy now!" expands the debate, we put the question, how would you create more jobs, to the green party dr. jill stein. >> thank you so much for expanding this debate tonight, as you so often to, amy, here on "democracy now!" i want to acknowledge the crisis is not getting better. we very much still have a crisis in our economy. one out of two americans are in poverty or living at a low income and headed towards poverty. about 25 million people are either jobless or working in jobs that do not pay living wages. there are millions of people who

lost their homes, approximately 8 million. there is no end in sight to the foreclosure crisis. we have an entire generation of students who are effectively indentured servants, who are trapped in a forgiving loans and do not have the jobs to pay them back -- and for giving loans and do not have the jobs to pay them back. we very much need new solutions. what we hear from both barack obama and mitt romney are essentially a rehash of where we have been not only for the past four years, but certainly for the eight years before that. we're hearing more about deregulating business and wall street, as if we did not having a problem from that already. we're hearing more about tax breaks for the wealthy, and we've seen tax breaks continue over the past many decades across all sectors of the tax code to where the wealthy are not paying their fair share now.

we're hearing more about energy, dirty energy. we are calling for a green new deal modeled after the new deal that out as of the great depression. they created approximately 4 million jobs in as little as two months. there is a lot we can do if we put our mind to it. we're calling for jobs greeted at the level of our communities that are nationally funded and put decisions in the hands of the community at which kind of jobs they need both in the green economy and meeting their social needs, that would be focused and controlled locally, the funded at the national level. >> justice party presidential candidate rocky anderson, how to create jobs? >> president obama would like us to ignore what is happening is past four years. granted, he came into a tough situation, but we have to consider that during the last 43 months we have had more than 8% unemployment. it is the only time in this nation's history that we have

had a president that has presided even over three years of over 8% unemployment. the fact is, those 43 months of over 8% unemployment during president obama's term is four months more than all of the months of over 8% unemployment from 1948 until president obama's inauguration. he talks about recovery, all the new jobs. the fact is, in the downturn, 60% of the jobs lost were mid skill and mid paying jobs, and only 20% of the new jobs during the so-called recovery are in that category. most of the jobs are low-paying jobs, these new jobs he brags about are in retail sales and food preparation. there are things that have been

proven in our history to work. we could have put in place, and it needs to be put in immediately, it works progress administration kind of program where we are investing in the future by building up our nation's rapidly deteriorating infrastructure, putting people to work. the wpa project at 8.5 million people to work. we could be putting 20 million to 25 million people to work and making that kind of investment in our nation's future. we need to renegotiate the averages free trade agreements and make sure they are fair trade so that we are not discriminating against those employers who want to hire the united states workers and also need to get a handle on health care costs, because they are at a disadvantage. >> let's go back to to dr. jill stein and rocky

anderson, and joining in real time through "democracy now!" special expanding the debate broadcast with mitt romney and president obama as they debated at the university of denver here in colorado. back with the debate in a moment. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. road in denver, colorado, as we continue our special coverage of the purse presidential debate, expanding the debate. this is what democracy sounds like. as president obama and mitt romney squared off, we broke the sound barrier by expanding the debate to include two candidates in real-time. the green party's jill stein in the justice party's rocky anderson. we turn now to social security. in the official debate, the moderator asked obama and romney if there were any differences in their views on social security.

>> i suspect we have some similar positions. it is structurally sound. it will have to be tweaked the way was by ronald reagan and speaker -- democratic speaker tip o'neill. but the basic structure is sound. but i'm not to talk about the guy is behind social security and medicare, and then talk about medicare because that's the big driver of our deficits right now. you know, my grandmother -- some of you know -- helped to raise me. my grandparents did. my grandfather died a while back. my grandmother died three days before i was elected president. she was fiercely independent. she worked her way up, only a high-school education. she ended up being vice president of the local bank. she ended up living alone by choice. and the reason she to be independent was because of social security and medicare. she had worked all her life, put

in this money, and understood there was a basic guarantee, a floor under which she could not go. that is the perspective i bring when i think about what's called entitlements. the name itself implies some sense of dependency on the part of these folks. these are folks who have worked hard, like my grandmother, and there are millions of people out there counting on this. so my approach is to say, how to strengthen the system over the long term? and in medicare, we did was said, we're going to have to bring down the costs if we're going to deal with our long-term deficits, but to do that, let's look where some of the money is going. $716 billion we were able said from the medicare program by no longer overpaying insurance companies by making sure that we were not overpaying providers. and using that money, we were actually able to lower prescription drug costs for seniors by an average of $600 and were able to make a

significant dent in providing them the kind of preventive care that will ultimately save money throughout the system. so the way for us to deal with medicare in particular is to lower health-care costs. when it comes to social security, as i said, you don't need a major structural change in order to make sure that social security is there for the future. >> follow-up on this. first, governor romney, in a two minutes on social security and entitlements. >> our seniors depend on these programs, and i know anytime we talk about entitlements, people become concerned that something is going back and that's going to change the life of the worst. the answer is, neither the president nor i are proposing any changes for any current retirees or near retirees either to social security or medicare. so if you're 60 or around 60 or older, you don't need to listen any further. for younger people, we need to talk about changes that are going to be occurring. i just thought about one. i was wrong when i said the

president is proposing for any changes for current retirees. he is on medicare, not on social security. on medicare, for current $716ees, he's cutting million from the program did he says it's by not overpaying hospitals and providers, actually going to them and say, "were going to reduce the rates you get paid across the board, everybody's going to get a lower rate." some 15% of hospitals and nursing homes said it won't take anymore medicare patients under that scenario. we a 50% of doctors who said they will not take more medicare patients. we have 4 million people on medicare advantage that will lose medicare managed because of those $716 billion in cuts. i cannot understand how you can cut medicare $716 billion for recipients of medicare. you point out, well, were putting some back to get a better prescription program. that's $1 for every $15 you have

cut. they're smart enough to know that's not a good trade. i want to take that $716 billion to have cut and put it back in the medicare. we can include a prescription program, but the idea of cutting $716 billion from medicare to be able to balance the additional cost of obamacare, in my opinion, is a mistake. with regards to young people coming along, i've got proposals to make sure medicare and social security are there for them without any question. >> this is "democracy now!" with the third party president to canada's rocky anderson and jill stein. jim lehrer has just asked about social security and the so- called entitlements. >> i think it is very important to point out that while we hear a very different meritage from barack obama and the democrats that we do from that romney, we have met romney's narrative being usually harsh, scary, selfishness on steroids, and the democratic mayor took in

more warm and fuzzy and we're all in this together, let's just wait for things to get better. it is really important to look beyond the talk, to look at the walk, to look at what is actually being proposed. geoffrey sax at the university of columbia has pointed out in his analysis of the budget proposals that both obama and romney-ryan, points out that they are both aiming is essentially for the same targets. they're both aiming for social security to be about 5% of gdp some years down the line whether it is four or eight years, and on medicare, they are both aiming for medicare to be reduced about 2.2% of gdp. whilescenarios, they both have e same targets. obama himself is looking to cut not security discretionary expenditures, things that cover education and housing and job training, also looking to cut that nearly in half according to

his own budget figures, down to about 1.8% of gdp. on social security, obama is already calling for some cuts, basically to the cost of living reimbursements. heads up about what is one happen after the election. you'll see the walk differ from the talk. medicare, it is true there but proposing the same changes. again, a sign that things are not really differ between these two corporate-sponsored candidates. they're both proposing about $700 billion in medicare cuts. for social security, we simply need to raise the cap on it. it will be perfectly solvent when the rich are paying their fair share. one thing we can do for medicare right now is to fix so it is still under a boondoggle, a giveaway for pharmaceutical companies and to allow bargaining in negotiation to bring down the cost for the >> rocky anderson, two minutes.

>> the solution to medicare is to provide medicare for everybody. to make it a single payer system. if you look around the world -- canada, tie 1 -- tie 1 looked at all other nations systems and incorporated the best elements. that a single payer, basically, medicare for all system. we are paying more than double the average of the rest of the industrialized world per-capita for our health care costs. a large part of that is because we are relying upon for-profit insurance industry to provide health care for most of the people in this country. we need to get rid of that. we can control costs. and all of these systems -- by the way, there is not another nation in the industrialized world that does it anywhere like we do, that has the waste, that has the poor medical outcomes,

and more people are taking out bankruptcy by the hundreds of thousands. so that is the solution for medicare. we can make it affordable, provide better services, and we can do it for all. you just get the for-profit insurance companies out of the way, and all of the burdensome paperwork and to from building systems and all the rest, that end up costing over one third of what we pay for what is supposed to go toward our medical care. as to social security, social security payroll taxes is the most aggressive attack known to mankind if you make one under $10,000, you don't pay anything on it -- if you make one of $10,000, you don't pay anything different. we need to let the cat. you can reduce the percentage the worker's pay, bring it down to 4% so that the middle class and the working poor come out ahead. you lift the cap, then you also have those who make their money

through investments, pay their fair share as well. there's no reason why working people are paying toward social security and those who are living off their investments get away, once again, without paying their fair share. >> back to moderator jim lehrer. >> let's move to health care where i know there is a clear difference. that has to do with the affordable care act. obamacare, and it is a two- minute segment. that means two minutes each. you go first, governor romney. you want it repealed. you want the affordable care act repealed. a y four >> i sure do. in part, it comes again from my experience. i was in new hampshire. a woman said, i cannot afford insurance for myself and my son. i met a couple of wisconsin, they said we're thinking of dropping our insurance because we cannot afford it. the number of small businesses that say they are dropping

interest because they cannot afford it, the cost of health care is prohibitive. we have to deal with the cost. when you look at obamacare, the congressional budget office has said it will cost $2,500 a year more than traditional insurance. it is adding the cost? -- it would add to the cost. it is expensive. expense of things hurt families. the second reason is it cuts $716 million from medicare to pay for it. i want to put that money back and medicare for our seniors. no. 3, it puts in place an unelected board that's one to tell people ultimately what kind of treatments they can have. i don't like that idea. fourth, there was a survey done of small businesses across the country, said, what's been the effect of obamacare on your hiring plans. and three-quarters of them said

it is less likely -- and makes us less likely to hire people. i don't know how the president could have come into office facing 23 million people out of work, rising unemployment, an economic crisis of the kitchen table, and spend his energy and passion for two years fighting for obamacare instead of fighting for jobs for the american people. it has killed jobs. in the best course for health care is to do with it in my state -- craft a plan of the state level that fits the needs of the state. and then let's focus on getting the costs down for people, rather than raising it with the $2,500 additional premium. >> mr. president, the argument, against repeal? >> four years ago when i was running for office, and is traveling around and having the same conversations governor romney talks about. it wasn't just that small businesses were seeing costs skyrocket and they couldn't get affordable coverage even if they wanted to provided to their employees. it wasn't just that this was the biggest driver of our federal

deficit, our overall health care costs, but it was families were worried about going bankrupt if they got sick, millions of families, all across the country. if that a pre-existing condition, they might not be a bigot coverage at all. if they did have coverage, insurance companies might impose an arbitrary limit. and so as a consequence, they're paying their premiums, somebody gets really sick, lo and behold, they don't have enough money to pay the bills because the insurance companies say that they've hit the limit. so we did work on this, alongside working on jobs, because this is part of making sure that middle-class families are secure in the country. let me tell exactly what obamacare did. it number one, if you've got health insurance, it doesn't mean the government takeover. you keep your own insurance, your own doctor. but it does say insurance companies cannot church where brown. they cannot impose arbitrary lifetime limits.

they have to let you keep your kid on their insurance -- your insurance plan until you're 26 years old. and it also says that you're going to have to get rebates if insurance companies are spending more on administrative costs and profits than they are on actual care. no. 2, if you don't have health insurance, were essentially setting up a group plan that allows you to benefit from group rates that are typically 18% lower than if you are out there trying to get insurance on the individual market. the last point i made before -- your two minutes is up critics i think i have five seconds before you interrupted me. the irony is, that we have seen this model work really well in massachusetts because governor romney did a good thing, working with democrats in the state to

set up what is essentially the identical model and as a consequence people are covered there. it hasn't destroyed jobs. and as a consequence, we have a system in which we have the opportunity to start bringing down costs, as opposed to just leaving millions of people out on the curled. >> we are expanding the debate with the third-party candidates. rocky anderson of the justice party, health care. >> we are talking about obamacare and romneycare. i would call a insurance companycare because they're the ones who wrote it. they joined up with conservative foundations years ago to develop this plan, to make the american people buy this perverse product. we are the only country in the world that depends upon for- profit insurance companies for the majority of our coverage for health care, for those were

lucky enough to have it. there are over 50 million people without basic health-care coverage in this country. the latest report indicates that there will be over 30 million people without essential health care coverage and obamacare is fully implemented. that man's misery. that means extended disease. it means extended illness and injuries, and it means the loss of lives. now over 40,000 people this country die every year because of the lack of health care. i talked earlier about the enormous rates of infant mortality and maternal mortality. these are women and children dying because, primarily, because they do not have access to health care. there is still one of the major problem read what sure premiums skyrocket. it is already happened.

since the beginning of this program. it is just going to get far worse. what we need is with the vast majority of americans said they wanted during the healthcare debate. there were some 70% of people are more and majority of doctors saying, we want a single pair medicare for all system. president obama and his compatriots there were colluding with the insurance companies would not even let the single payer medicare for all proposal see the light of day. the president folded even on the idea of a public auction. it was an enormous betrayal of the public interest so that they could please the for-profit insurance companies that has such a stranglehold on our congress and now on the white house. >> dr. jill stein, this is your profession, health care. >> that's right, it's my profession read this is where i live. i live in the state of

massachusetts. i have seen the affordable care act. we also call it romneycare or obamacare, take your pick. we have seen their rollout. what we have seen is the affordable care act actually in the flesh is neither affordable nor caring, because in fact, it provides stripped-down plans which are fairly expensive unless you are in a very low income, unless you are poor and are covered, costs go up a stunningly. if you're making less than $20,000 a year as a family, you are covered. it has expanded care for the very poor, and that is a good thing. but if you're in the $20,000- $40,000 bracket, action, your costs go up 5% of your income, a staggering amount of money, to add an additional 5% of your income to our health care costs.

and yet you are not covered. on average, these plans cover about 75% of your costs -- i think it is more like 7%. yet you are paying approximately 10% of your income for them it is not affordable for families. you're not fully cover. when people get sick and massachusetts now, they go into medical bankruptcy just as much as they did before we had the affordable care act. it is certainly not affordable for state government, not for municipalities, not for small businesses. costs are skyrocketing. the answer is medicare for all with providing care to everyone, comprehensively, you're in charge not your boss at work or profit-sharing ceo. you get to call the shots. it actually saves as trillions of dollars over the coming decade because it eliminates the mass of wasteful health

insurance bureaucracy and stabilizes medical inflation. it is a win'win. it is a sign of how hijacked washington and our state capitals are that we don't have medicare for all right now. >> green party presidential candidate dr. jill stein and justice party's rocky anderson as a participated in the presidential debate last night in real time, a real podiums, albeit in a different place on "democracy now!" special "expanding the debate." back in a moment. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we're on the road in denver as we continue our special coverage of the first presidential debate. last night we aired the romney, obama debate, pausing for two presidential contenders who were shut out of the official debate, dr. jill stein of the green party and rocky anderson of the justice the party. during the official debate, moderator jim lehrer as president obama and mitt romney if there's a fundamental debate it -- difference of how they view the federal government. >> idfa think there are differences. the first role of the federal

government is to keep the american people safe, its most basic function. as commander in chief, that is something that's i have worked on and thought about every single day i've been in the oval office. but also believe that government has the capacity -- the federal government -- has the capacity to help open up opportunity and create ladders of opportunity and to create frameworks where the american people can succeed. look, the genius of america is the free enterprise system and freedom and the fact that people can go out there and start a business, work on an idea, make their own decisions. but as abraham lincoln understood, there also things we do better together. in the middle of the civil war, abraham lincoln said, let's help to finance the transcontinental railroad, let's start the national academy of sciences, let's start land grant colleges,

because we want to give these gateways of opportunity for all americans, because if all americans are getting opportunity, were all one of the better off. that doesn't restrict people's freedom, but enhances it. what i have tried to do as president is to apply those same principles. and when it comes to education, what i've said is we've got to reform schools that are not working. we something called race to the top. we've said, we will give you more money if you initiate reforms. as a consequence, had 46 states around the country have made a real difference. but what i've also said is, let's hire another 100,000 math and science teachers to make sure we maintain our technological lead and our people are skilled and able to succeed. and hard-pressed states right now cannot all do that. in fact, we've seen layoffs of hundreds of thousands of teachers over the last several years, and governor romney

doesn't think any more teachers. i do, because i think that is the kind of investment or the federal government can help. it cannot do it all, but it can make a difference. as a consequence, will have a better trained workforce and that will create jobs because companies want to locate in places where we've got a skilled workforce. >> 2 minutes, governor >> first, i love great schools. massachusetts, our schools are ranked no. 1 in all 50 states. the key to great schools are great teachers. so i reject the idea that i don't believe in great teachers are more teachers. every school district, every station make that decision on their own. the role of government did it look behind us. the constitution the declaration of independence. the role of the run is to protect and promote the principles of those documents. first, life and liberty. we have a responsibility to protect the lives and liberty of people. and the means a military second to none. i do not believe in cutting our

military, but maintaining the strength of america's military. second, in a line that says we are endowed by our creator with our rights, i believe we must maintain our commitment to religious tolerance and freedom in this country. the state also says we are endowed by our creator with the right to pursue happiness as we choose. i interpret that as, one, making sure those people are less fortunate and cannot care for themselves are cared by or cared for by one another. we're a nation that believes that we're children of the same god, and we care for those that have difficulties, those that are elderly and have a problem -- and have problems and challenges, those that are disabled. we care for them. but we also believe in maintaining for individuals the right to pursue their dreams and to not have the government substitute itself for the rights of free individuals. and what we're seeing right now

is, in my view, a trickle-down government approach which has government thinking didn't do better than free people pursuing their dreams. and it's not working. the proof is 23 million people out of work. the proof of that is one of six people in poverty. the proof of that is we've gone from 32 million on food stamps to 47 million on food stamps. the proof of that is 50% of college graduates that cannot find work. >> all right. >> it is time for a new path. >> rocky anderson? >> our government is to keep us safe, but more and more, the united states citizens are worried about being safe from our government. our government is spying on the spread even when there was illegal spying under the bush a ministration, with the president obama do? he said, let's not worry about those who violated federal laws when they spied on american citizens, let's just move forward and not look back. no accountability for a certain

class of people. no sense of the role of law controlling no sense that we have a one tiered system of justice. the patriot act needs to be repealed. we need to follow due process. with the president is targeting u.s. citizens for assassination. where is the due process and that? >> jill stein? >> we certainly do need to hold government accountable. as rockies pointing out, the attack on our civil liberties has been devastating. under the obama white house, basically codified the acts of george bush, the attacks of our privacy, the criminalization of the right to protest, the national defense authorization act in which the president has claimed the right to incarcerate us, basically, without charge or trial, and to do that at his pleasure without having to justify that in any way. yes, there are very serious problems.

things are not working under democrats, and republicans alike. we need a government that is of, by, and for the people, not sponsored and working for big money. >> jim lehrer. >> that brings us to closing statements. governor romney, you elected to go last. >> i want to thank you and governor romney. i think this was a terrific debate. i appreciate it. i want to thank the university of denver. four years ago, we were going through a major crisis. and yet my faith and confidence in the american future is undiminished. and the reason is because of its people. the woman i met in north carolina decided at 55 to go back to school because she wanted to inspire her daughter and now has a job. because the company in

minnesota who was willing to give up salaries and perks for the executives to make sure they did not lay off workers during the recession. the auto workers that emit in toledo or detroit take such pride in building the best cars in the world, not just because of a paycheck, but because it gives them the sense of pride, that they're helping to build america. and so the question now is, how we build on the strengths? and everything that i've tried to do and everything and proposing for the next four years in terms of improving our education system or developing american energy or making sure that we're closing loopholes for companies and shipping jobs overseas and focusing on small businesses and companies that recruiting jobs in the u.s., are closing our deficit and responsible, balanced way that allows us to invest in our future. all those things are designed to make sure that the american people, their genius, their grit, their determination is channeled and have an

opportunity to succeed. and everybody's getting a fair shot. everybody's getting a fair share, everybody's doing a fair sharing plan by the same roles. you know, four years ago, i said that i'm not a perfect man and i would not be the perfect president. and that's probably a promise that governor romney thinks i've kept. but also promise that i find every single day on behalf of the american people, the middle- class, and all of those who are striving to get into the middle class. i've kept that promise and if you'll vote for me, then i promise all fight just as hard in the second term. >> governor romney, your two- minute closing. >> thank you, jim, mr. president, and thank you for tuning in this evening. this is an important election and i'm concerned about america. i'm concerned about the direction america has been taking over the last four years. i know this is bigger than an election about the two of us as individuals. it's bigger than our respective parties. it's an election about the course of america. what kind of america do you want

to have yourself and for your children. there are really two different very -- two very different paths that we began speaking about this evening and over the course of this month were going to have two more presidential debates and vice-presidential debate. but they lead in different directions. it's not just looking to our words that yet to take in evidence of where you go. but the record. with incomes going down the prices going up, there's a middle-class squeeze. of it and comes up again. you will see -- i will help create 12 million new jobs in this country with rising incomes. if the president reelected, obamacare will be fully installed it in my view, that's one mean a whole different way of life for people who counted on the insurance plan that in the past. many will lose it. you will see health premiums go up by some $2,500 per family. if i'm elected, will put in place the kind of principles

that i did my home state and allow each state to craft their own programs to get people insured and will focus on getting the cost of health care down. if the president or to be reelected, you're going to see a $716 billion cut to medicare. you'll have for many people will lose medicare evanish. you'll have hospitals and providers that will no longer accept medicare patients. all restore that $716 billion to medicare. and finally, military. if the president is reelected, to see dramatic cuts to our military. the secretary of defense has said these would be even devastating. i will not cut our commitment to our military. i will get america's middle- class working again. >> we continue now with final statements from the green party presidential candidate jill stein >> we clearly are in a crisis. people are losing their jobs, their homes, decent wages, affordable health care and higher education. our civil liberties are under attack in the climate is in

meltdown. yet the wealthy few are making out better than ever, making out like bandits. richer than ever. while the political establishments that got us into this mess to start with actually is making it worse. both democrats and republicans are making it worse and posing austerity on the everyday people of this country while they continue to squander trillions on taxpayers for the wealthy and big business bailout. we can use this election to turn the breaking point into a tipping point, to take back our democracy and the peaceful, just, green future we deserve. where they're breaking point not only for people, but the planet, the economy, and our democracy. it is very important a role change in course. we can change the course but my campaign provides a way to do that. across the country we're on the ballot for 85% of the voters. we will allow you to go to the

polls and actually vote for real change, not to give a mandate for four more years of the same by voting for either corporate and wall street-sponsored candidates, but instead to stand solutions american people are clamoring for and are within our reach. jobs for everyone, transition to a green economy to put an end to climate change, health care as a human rights for everyone, public higher education that is free and pays for itself seven times over, and by ending student debt, up bailing out the student, not the banks. and downsizing the military, bringing home our trips, cutting back the level and respecting immigrant rights as human rights and reforming nafta and the free trade agreements that -- >> your final statement. >> this race is about our fundamental values, who the american people are and who we are becoming. it is about whether we will work

together for equality of opportunity, equality under the law, liberty and justice -- economic justice, social justice, and our mental justice for all. or whether we will come in the face of gross inequalities of opportunity, simply leave everybody to fend for themselves as a bad ayn rand novel or mitt romney speech. this race is about whether or not our country will continue toward totalitarianism with the presidency that has made so much worse under both the bush and the obama administrations, which have shown content for the rule of law, due process, and restrict -- such contempt for the rule of law, due process, and restrictions on the u.n. is its constitutional. we must say no to assassinations of u.s. citizens, say no to

indefinite detention without any semblance of due process, and to the continued drone killings that have made our nation so much less secure. so let your voices be heard loudly from the voting booth as you are guided by your most deeply held values. >> the justice party's presidential candidate rocky anderson and green party candidate dr. jill stein, as a participated in the presidential debate last night in real time averell podiums, albeit outside the gates of the official debate on "democracy now!" special broadcast "expanding debates time to see the three hour debate, go to democracynow.org. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. "democracy now!"